Daptor bracket



July 11, 1961 M, L. YDARD 2,991,968

ADAPTOR BRACKET Filed Deo. 17. 1959 United States Patent O The prent invention relates to a bracket for the support and display lof articles, and more particularly to a bracket for supporting and displaying merchandise on a perforated panel.

9 ',In recent years it has become common in mercantile Y establishments to display merchandise on perforated panels, i.e., panels of wood or board having a multiplicity of uniformly spaced round holes or perforations formed i therein. Such panels are commonly termed peg boards and a wide variety of hooks, brackets and *fixtures are available for supporting articles thereon.

In displaying certain types of merchandise in mercantile establishments, special problems have arisen. Thus in displaying certain items of drapery hardware and especially drapery rods and similar long items, it is highly undesirable that they be accidentally dislodged. But such accidental dislodgment has been a problem, particularly in premises in which prospective purchasers may be accompanied by children. To avoid this problem, it has been commonpractice rigidly to aiiix drapery hardware items to a display panel. Such practice overcomes the problem of accidental dislodgment, but presents difficulties when it is desired to change the display. rIhe invention is concerned primarily with providing a bracket for use with peg board and which permits easy removal from the peg board but which makes accidental dislodgment unlikely even when long items such as drapery rods are supported andare in a position to be accidentally urged in upwards or sidewards directions.

The principal Iobject of the invention has been to provide a n'ovel and improved peg boa-rd bracket.

Another object of the invention has been to provide such a bracket which is easily removable but which resists accidental disl'odgment even when substantial force is exerted thereon.

Still another object of the invention has been to provide such a bracket which is especially adapted to support common items of drapery hardware for display in mercantile establishments.

A further object of the invention has been the provision of such a bracket in which an article may be rigidly but removably attached.

A feature of the invention has been the provision of a peg board bracket which requires a turning movement for insertion or removal.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention:

'Ihe bracket of the invention comprises a generally llat base plate having rearwardly extending flanges along the top and bottom edges, the ilange edges being adapted to lie flat against the peg board surface. The upper ange has two spaced L-shaped legs extending rearwardly and upwardly from the rear flange edge. One of the L- shaped legs has a laterally extending portion at its upper end. The lower flange has two legs extending rearwardly from the rear lla-nge edge. The lateral spacing between the upper flange legs and between the lower ange legs is equal to an integral multiple of the peg board perforation spacing, as is also the vertical spacing between the flanges. The base plate is provided with spaced holes for the attachment of articles to the bracket.

The invention -will now be described in lgreater detail with reference to the appended drawing in which:

' FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred form of bracket in accordance with the invention shown in assembled relationship with a peg board;

` FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a tcp plan view of the bracket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vfront elevational View of the bracket of FIG. 3;

FI?. 5 is a bottom plan view of the bracket of FIG. 3; an

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the bracket of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the bracket of the invention comprises a flat base plate 10 which is preferably made of steel but which can be made of any convenient strong, rigid material. The upper edge of the base plate 10 is rounded into a rearwardly extending llange 11 which is disposed at 90 with respect to the base plate 10. A similar rearwardly extending flange 1.2 is provided at the bottom of the base plate 10. As best shown in FIG. 2.I the edges of the llanges 11 and 12 are adapted to lie flat against the front face of a peg board 13, whereby the base plate 10 is disposed parallel to but spaced from the peg board 13, this spacing being equal to the width of the flanges 11 and 12.

As is cutomary, the peg board 13 is provided with a multiplicity of uniformly spaced round holes 14. The vertical spacing between the flanges 11 and 12 equal to an integral multiple of the peg board hole spacing, e.g., l, 2, 3 etc. As shown, this Vertical spacing is equal to twice the distance between center lines of adjacent holes.

The outer edge of the flange 12 is provided with two rearwardly extending legs 15 and 16 which are spaced apart by a distance equal to an integral multiple of the peg board hole spacing, in this case the spacing being equal to the distance between the center lines of adjacent holes. Since peg boards commonly have one inch' hole spacings, the center line to center line spacing of the legs 15 and 16 might well be one inch, as compared to a two inch vert-ical spacing between llanges 11 and 12.

The legs 15 and 16 are adapted to t into holes in the v peg board, as shown in FIG. 2, and preferably have a width approximately equal -to the peg board hole diameter so that there is a tendency for the legs 15 and 16 to be retained in the holes by frictional engagement. The length of the legs 15 and 16 may be equal to their Width, or they may be rectangular in shape. However, these legs should preferably be sutliciently long to engage the hole walls for at least aboutone-half of the peg board depth;

, The upper llange 11 is provided with an L-shaped leg 17 disposed directly above the leg 15 and having a rearwardly extending portion 118 and an upwardly extending portion 19. The upper ilange 11 is also provided with another L-shaped leg 20 having a rearwardly extending portionv 21 and an upwardlyextending portion 22. Additionally, the leg 20 is provided with a laterally extending portion or extension 23 which is disposed parallel to the base plate 10 and extends toward the adjacent side edge of the base plate 10, i.e., away from the leg 17.

The legs 17 and 20 may be equal in width, which width should be slightly less than the peg board hole diameter whereby the legs 17 and 20 may easily be inserted in peg board holes. 'Ihe length of the rearwardly extending portions 198 and 21 is preferably slightly larger than the peg board depth whereby -when the bracket is attached to -a peg board, as shown in FIGS. l and 2, the leg portions 19, 22 and 23 lie flat against the rear face of the peg board while the edges of the flanges 11 and 12 lie liat against the front face of the peg board.

The bracket of the invention may conveniently be Patented July 11, .1961

made from a single piece of metal suitably stamped and bent.

For installation, the leg 20 is first inserted in a peg board hole a distance sufficient so that the laterally extending portion 23 extends beyond the rear face of the peg board. The bracket is then subjected to a turning motion to insert the leg 17 in its corresponding hole. The legs 17 and 20 are then fully inserted so that the edge of the ange 11 contacts the front face of the peg board. The bracket is then swung inwardly until the legs 1S and 16 are fully inserted in their corresponding holes and the edges of the ange 12 contacts the front face of the peg board. -For removal of the bracket, these operations are reversed.

It will be evident that the construction described will prevent accidental dislodgment of the bracket since removal requires first a turning motion of the bottom of the bracket away from the peg board followed by a lateral turning motion to remove first the leg 17 and then the leg 20. The straight rearwardly extending legs 1S and 16 prevent the bracket from swaying sideways.

The base plate is provided with two spaced laterally extending elongated holes 24 and 25 below the upper edge thereof and a small round hole 26 between the elongated holes 24 and 25. A vertically extending elongated hole 27 is provided beneath the round hole 26. This arrangement permits convenient attachment of a wide variety of drapery hardware items to the bracket, although the bracket is particularly useful in connection with drapery rods and other long pieces. Thus to display a long traverse rod, the rod end brackets and center supports may be attached to respective adaptor brackets of the invention, as by means of machine screws and nuts. The adaptor brackets are then installed at appropriate points in the peg board and the rod is attached in the usual way. With such a hardware item, the danger of accidental dislodgment, as by children striking or pushing the rods, is substantial and hence the stability afforded by the adaptor bracket of the invention is of the greatest utility.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment thereof and in a specific use, various modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bracket for demountable attachment to an upright panel having a multiplicity of vertically and horizontally spaced apart perforations therein, comprising a flat base plate having rearwardly extending flanges along the top and bottom edges thereof, said flanges being parallel to each other and having free edges adapted to lie against the front surface of said panel, the vertical spacing between said flanges being equal to an integral multiple of the vertical perforation spacing, a pair of rearwardly extending legs projecting from the free edge of said bottom fiange and being adapted to extend into respective horizontally spaced perforations, and first and second generally L-shaped legs each having a rearwardly extending portion projecting from the free edge of said top ange and each having an upwardly extending portion, one of said L-shaped legs also having a fiat laterally extending portion projecting from the upper end of the upwardly extending portion of said one L-shaped leg, said L-shaped legs being adapted to extend through respective horizontally spaced perforations whereby said upwardly extending portions and said at laterally extending portion are adapted to lie substantially fiat along the rear surface of said panel.

2. A bracket for demountable attachment to an upright panel having a multiplicity of vertically and horizontally spaced round holes therein, comprising a fiat base plate having rearwardly extending flanges along the top and bottom edges thereof, said flanges being parallel to each other and having free edges adapted to lie against the front surface of said panel thereby to dispose said base plate at a distance from said panel, the vertical spacing between said flanges being equal to an integral multiple of the vertical perforation spacing, a pair of Substantially fiat rearwardly extending legs projecting from the free edge of said bottom flange and being adapted to extend into respective horizontally spaced ones of said holes, and first and second generally L-shaped legs each having a rearwardly extending portion projecting from the free edge of said top ange and each having an upwardly extending portion, one of said L-shaped legs also having a flat laterally extending portion projecting from the upper end of the upwardly extending portion of said one L-shaped leg, the flat surface of said laterally extending portion extending in a direction away from the other of said L-shaped legs, said L-shaped legs being adapted to extend through respective horizontally spaced ones of said holes whereby said upwardly extending portions and said flat laterally extending portion are adapted to lie substantially flat along the rear surface of said panel, said base plate having a plurality of perforations therein for attachment of an article thereto.

3. A bracket as set forth in claim 2 in which the width of said rearwardly extending legs is substantially equal to the diameter of said holes whereby frictional contact occurs between said rearwardly extending legs and the walls of the corresponding holes.

4. A bracket as set forth in claim 3 in which said first and second legs are of substantially equal width, said equal width being substantially less than the diameter of said holes.

5. A bracket as set forth in claim 4 in which the lengths of said rearwardly extending portions of said first and second legs are equal and slightly greater than the thickness of said panel.

6. A bracket as set forth in claim 2 in which said perforations in said base plate include a pair of horizontally spaced, horizontally elongated holes adjacent the upper edge of said plate, and a centrally disposed vertically elongated hole extending upwardly from adjacent the lower edge of said plate.

Mapson Apr. 24, 1956 Tichnor Nov. 17, 1959 

